The continuing adventures of Immanuel

Gay Life in Puerto Rico (A Pictorial)

We stayed in the Condado section of San Juan, which back in the day used to be the gay mecca of Puerto Rico.

It still does have a sizable gay population, and there is a small gay beach in front of the Atlantic Beach Hotel and gay-friendly Oceano lounge. But the go-go gay days of the 80s and 90s are over.

Condado is becoming increasingly gentrified, condo-ized and family friendly as Puerto Rico seeks to attract more tourism dollars to pay down its huge debt and recover from the Great Recession (Unemployment is still twice the level of the mainland United States at 16 percent).

The Atlantic Beach Hotel, which used to cater almost exclusively to gays, was purchased by a straight owner who locals said is very homophobic. Puerto Rico opened its own Eagle leather bar but the placed closed down for lack of interest. San Juan’s only bathhouse closed about a year ago after churches protested (Despite its tolerance for LGBT people Puerto Rico can still be a very Catholic and conservative place.)

And the biggest gay clubs are inland from the beach in slummier neighborhoods where it is not unusual to see transsexual prostitutes plying their wares. In fact one of the ladies, this heavy-set brown-skinned black transsexual in a too-tight mini skirt that showed off her bubble ass, hit on Morgan and me when we were walking back to the hotel.

“You’re gorgeous,” she purred in Puerto-Rican accented English.

“You are beautiful too,” I said, and kept walking.

Puerto Rico’s Flag

Still there are vestiges of more gay times. Right in the middle of Condado there is the Kinky Condom Shop that sells nothing but condoms, lubes and sex gear. It was even open on Sunday.

And Morgan and I still found plenty to do. Inferno Puerto Rico, a black gay and lesbian group that hosts trips to Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic, were having an event at our hotel, the Conrad Condado. Morgan and I hit the pool party. Take it from me, the lesbians were looking hotter than the boys from Atlanta.

We hung out at Circo Bar, where there was a drag show in honor of the late great Donna Summer on the Sunday night before. The house music was thumping but I hate to say it but Puerto Ricans don’t seem to dance as well as the guys back home at the Mill on Saturday night. They just stand around in circles with their friends and bop a little bit when the beat gets good.

On Monday Memorial Day, probably my favorite day, we hung out at the gay beach and just checked out the boys. Here are some photos.

Guys hanging out at the Oceano Lounge, which sits in front of the Gay beach.

A middle-aged Daddy shows off his stuff at the gay beach on Condado.

Some more eye candy from the Gay beach.

This dude kept playing with his dick but still wasn’t getting any play on the beach.

Group of friends talking on the beach.

On the gay beach in Puerto Rico.

Drag show in honor of Donna Summer at Circo Club. Yeah, this drag queen was pretty hard on the eyes but she put on a good show. In fact, I later learned she runs a well respected dance class and is like a Godmother to many Puerto Rican gays.

Hey to be honest I wasn’t looking at the drag queen. Check out that hottie to the right! But why do Puerto dudes have to arch their eyebrows?

I agree with the commentary on how unflattering it is to see Puerto Rican men–of all orientations and professions, including police officers, lawyers, etc.–pluck their eyebrows RAZOR THIN. I’m not even referring here to cleaned up eyebrows, but to eyebrows far more thinner than even their own sisters and/or mothers at times!! Alas, as much as they may not admit it openly it is an unstated fact that MANY a “straight” Puerto Rican will have sex with gay men, and not always or necessarily for pay. Here I speak from many personal experiences as well as those of many of my American friends and other gay Puerto Rican friends, too. And as if that were not enough, the most recent trend among Puerto Ricans now is to shave their arm pits, arms, and legs!! So much for homophobia, I guess. It’s rather like the pot calling the kettle black. Too ironic and too funny if you were to ask me.

Yes it’s funny how the most homophobic cultures can do the most homosexual things. In India and parts of Africa it’s not unusual to see close male friends holding hands or sitting on each other’s laps or even dancing together. A generation ago close black American friends would call each other “baby.” I still have an uncle in his 70 ‘ s who calls me baby. If you a addressed a young male by baby nowadays they would call you gay for sure. The funny thing is that a lot of undercover gay sex goes on Puerto Rico and in all these cultures but nobody admits it. Thanks much for your comment and observations!